Watch Leave the World Behind | Netflix Official Site
The cast is stellar, the trepidation around the rise of technology contributing to the downfall of society is a truism (the downfall of man always feels as if it is right around the corner). Every aspect of this film should have made it come together like a Beatles song. The over two hours invested as the narrative mounts slowly and effectively, delivering reasons to mistrust every character (there aren’t many only 7 with real screen time). Hints of the Purge and Strangers abound but the movie settles into the trope of the survivalists finally being right.
The film was intense. The transition to each act led by a title screen and the titles actually being utilized felt like chapters in a novel. Based on the book by the same name, the characters are slightly changed, and this shapes how the film develops. The premise is basic. Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts play Amanda and Clay the parents to two teens.
From the outset Roberts’ character states explicitly, “I hate people,” in more graphic terms, but this feels important. She rents a magnificent home for a vacation and unlike many movies, the action begins almost immediately. In the film Mahershala Ali plays G.H. He is the owner of the home, and this immediately creates tension when he and his daughter show up in the middle of the night.
Viewers find that G.H. works in finance. He constantly mentions a client in military defense. This information is intentionally dragged out throughout the film but is never really paid off because by the time G.H. explains it the viewer is more than aware that something is happening in the country.
Is the movie worth investing the two hours into? The change of the midnight couple in the book from husband and wife to father and daughter adds a dimension that kind of creates a moment which should be touching, but the touching moment is fleeting when it should be heartfelt. The movie interrupts itself. It starts extremely fast and there is the rise in action, with disturbing moments where the actions of animals’ hint at unseen disruptions of the ecosystem, but just as there is a major revelation by G.H. and a scene of calamity being experienced by the two women, the film gives a nod to the book with a dark comedic insertion of a bunker discovery by the daughter of Amanda and Clay.
The acting was incredible, the script felt rushed and while I’ve seen countless breakdowns on YouTube, a glance at any review of the novel reveals exactly why the film just didn’t clear the bases and felt like the start of a journey vs a summary. My rating? Acting is 8.5 out of 10. The buildup is an 8.5 out of 10. The payoff, 4 out of 10.
Note: Tesla is either going to be pissed or excited by the self-driving moment in the movie.
